Chris

"Oh kitten," I warn. "I'm always up for the challenge." I wink at Jess, enjoying her fired up side and wanting to see more.

"Are you though?" She teases, looking up through her dark lashes. The fire dancing in her eyes tells me exactly how worked up she's getting.

I can't help but chuckle at her bravado. That inner fire is one of my favourite things about her. As she recovers from the trauma in her past, her walls have come crashing down and I see the real Jess now.

Just when I think I have her figured out she surprises me yet again and I love her all the more for it!

Taking control of the situation, I pin her against the cool bathroom shower tiles, her skin is on fire and the sweet scent of her arousal has Cyrus howling in the back of my mind as it surrounds us.

"Fuck baby," I groan as she slips a hand between us and grips me. Jess looks up at me, honey gold eyes swirling with lust as she skillfully strokes me. Pleasure radiates upwards from my shaft and my hips flex on their own accord against her hand, wanting more.

Not one to leave her wanting, I hoist her up once more, wrapping her legs around me and sheathing myself fully. She cries out in ecstasy, her eyes fluttering shut while her head rolls back against the tiles. The way her brows knit together and lips part is sexy as hell, capturing all of my attention.

Jess moans and writhes against me as I start to move, grinding my hips against hers while my lips worship every inch of her neck, moving my way to my mark. She rewards me with a throaty moan as I suck and nip at her sweet spot, making her walls clench down around me.

"Chris," she whimpers, threading her fingers through my hair and tugging lightly to capture my lips with hers. Everywhere our skin touches, sparks dance freely, feeding our need for more.

I tighten my grip on her voluptuous ass, lifting her up before dropping her back down. Jess is like putty in my hands as she moans into our kiss, tightening her grip as I pick up my pace. All too soon, I feel her quiver around me. She breaks our kiss, panting as she trails kisses to her mark, lovingly swirling her tongue around it before sinking her teeth in and sending me over with her.

Wave after wave of her emotions wash over me, clearer than ever before. So much love feeds back through our bond that it makes my chest tighten as we ride out our high, waiting for her teeth to let go. With a groan, I feel her detach and lick the wound closed before I set her down and hold her close.

"Damn baby," I finally rasp out and feel her giggle in my arms.

"Guess you were up for the challenge," she says with a satisfied smile.

"For you baby, always," I admit. There isn't a thing I wouldn't do for her. "And now that I've taken care of that dirty girl, let's get the rest of this dirt off of ya." Jess can't keep a straight face as she dramatically gasps and pushes my chest back.

I laugh at her theatrics and grab the black cherry body wash she loves so much, lather up the washcloth, and proceed to scrub every speck of dirt from her sun-kissed skin. Jess practically purrs under my attention, wordlessly heeding my directions as I turn her to wash her back before ushering her under the rain head to rinse off before grabbing the shampoo.

Being a King may have not been in my plans, hell, I never expected to be Alpha, but I always knew that I wanted my mate. Quiet moments with Jess like this make the world and all it's stress melt away.

I'm just a man... her man and all that matters is right here and now.

"What are you thinking about?" She asks, trailing her fingers across my temple in a way that I can't help but lean into.

"You, me... Us," I admit, fully expecting her to pull back but she doesn't. Instead, she rinses her hair out before putting in conditioner and picking up the washcloth to return the favour.

"Anything in particular?" Jess murmurs, running her hands and the soapy cloth across my chest while shifting her gaze to mine.

"Mmm, nothing new," I whisper. "Just thinking about how moments like this are the highlight of my day."

"Same," she breathes out, slipping behind me and trailing her fingers over my ribs before shifting her attention to my shoulders then working down my back. My eyes flutter shut as I savour every touch and caress, rolling my head back to make it easier for her to scrub. Every thought empties from my mind as she massages my scalp before guiding me under the spray.

After a final rinse, we head out and towel off. Jess throws her long tresses into a braid, slips on a spaghetti strap shirt and yoga pants before taking off her necklace that holds my ring and the crystal to suppress her scent. Almost instantly, her natural cinnamon and cherry blossom scent is permeated by honeyed milk and I can't help but breathe deep, taking it in like a drug.

"I don't know how much longer I'll be able to hide this..." she trails off, gesturing to her body.

My eyes shift from her pouting lips down across her body, taking in her heavy breasts, curved hips and budding baby bump. To me, she is so beautiful but I feel how uncertain and worried she is through the bond.

"It's okay, baby," I whisper, dropping to my knees in front of her and gripping her hips before kissing her belly. Laying my ear against her, I feel Jess thread her fingers through my hair and relax. "No one needs to know anything before we want to tell them."

"I know," she sighs.

"You get a check up soon right?" I ask, shifting my gaze up to her and she nods, uncertainty swirling in her eyes. "Why don't we see what Doc has to say and go from there, hmm?"

"Okay," she says with a soft smile. "Can we veg out a bit before bed? I was ready for bed when I came up here, but someone worked up my appetite." Jess raises a comical brow and I don't miss her change of topic, but let it slide.

"Anything you want baby," I reply, getting up and sprawling out on the couch while Jess grabs snacks. A moment later, she's curled up with me and fast asleep, her granola bar with a single bite taken out of it. I flick the TV off, pull a throw over us, and drift off too.

-----

Jess shifts on top of me, stretching out like a kitten after a nap. I groan, seeing the time is already seven in the morning, yet I'm not ready for this to end.

"Stay," I grumble when she tries to get up.

"But I have to pee," she counters, looking up at me with pleading eyes. Reluctantly I untangle myself from her, freeing her mad bathroom dash. Instead of coming back, she heads directly to the closet, emerging dressed for the day.

"Since when are you a morning person?" I laugh, arching a brow.

"I'm not... but I had to pee and I'm hungry. You're usually leaving around now anyways, aren't you?" she asks, furrowing her brows.

"Maybe I wanted to take a day off and stay in bed with you all day," I counter.

"You don't take days off," Jess deadpans.

'She's got you there,' Cyrus snickers.

"I could," I sigh, begrudgingly sitting up. Not wanting to hold her back, I quickly clean up and get dressed to have breakfast before I head off for another fun-filled day with Barron.

We grab breakfast from the dining commons and take a seat in time to be swamped by Ethan and his friends. Seeing him laughing and joking with other kids his age makes my chest tighten. The difference in him this short year is like night and day, having gone from next to feral and mute to the ringleader of his own juvenile pack. Just watching him, I can feel Cyrus puff up in pride.

I leave Jess with them after hearing their plans to tackle the greenhouse and head once more to work with Barron. The more we dig into how the Royal pack works and what it's responsibilities are, the more of a mess I see. Having no formal King or Queen hasn't helped matters at all. Unlike other packs, when the Alpha King was slain, the Beta couldn't take over here because of bloodlines.

The whole situation is a clusterfuck. When the King's brother Caleb was killed, it left the Beta position for Barron. Unfortunately, he was only Beta for a month before the Royal family was assassinated, dumping everything on his shoulders for the next decade.

Barron did his best with the limitations imposed on him but all he could manage was to basically keep everything barely running. I'm uncertain if he chose to carry the weight of the kingdom on his shoulders alone, or if the Gamma and Delta just shirked their responsibility.

The end result is that the man oversees everything and questions everything I do.

As we delve into day to day responsibilities and I divvy up the responsibilities between Jace, Jude, Sara, and Xavier, he questions how prudent that is. Ever since Mira was outed as a witch, he has made what he and the people think of her being here very clear to me, going as far as suggesting I find a new Beta and send them elsewhere. Making my opinion clear that that will NEVER happen hasn't stopped him from bringing that suggestion up but at least it comes up less often and he drops it quickly.

Despite Barron's efforts, the royal pack is a mess. Finances are fucked. They hemorrhage money because things have been locked in place since the last king died. Xavier has been a Godsend, working on the books between taking care of Claire and has made major headway. Unfortunately, the system in place requires me to approve every little change, something I fully intend to rectify after my coronation.

Another problem is the pack's dynamic. A healthy pack has a strong core of warriors with an equal amount of mates, regular pack members, and Omegas to support.

They should all be on the same page and working together for the good of the pack... That's how a healthy pack works.

Instead, the Royal pack is sick.

Jess said as much when she first arrived here. I thought she just experienced culture shock after everything she's been through, but I was wrong. There is a rot here that the more we dig, the bigger it spreads. We uncover more and more wolves whose only reason for staying is to syphon off as much as they can for their own good.

Picking off the low-lying societal parasites has been easy enough and, once exposed, they go away quietly to avoid facing the consequences, but the ones dug in deep are proving to be more difficult. They've had a decade to hide their tracks and set up their comfortable lives, ones that they are not interested in having disrupted by a new, inconvenient Royal family.

I may not have planned to be King but knowing that Ethan could have inherited this mess makes me more determined than ever to clean it up.

Christ, it may take me 'till he becomes King to get this place in shape.

Throughout the day, I feel our bond hum to life every now and then. Jess always keeps her emotions reeled in but at times excitement surges back to me or frustration followed by triumph, but always a sense of contentment.

Going over the giant headache that will be the coronation and ball makes me cringe and we power through it for the rest of the day to avoid prolonging details. Aiden, the captain of the palace guard, is taking care of security for the grounds while Garrick will be overseeing personal safety.

Jace will be overseeing guests alongside Merrick as Alphas from near and far, including some familiar faces, will be staying for the event. Evans is taking care of palace overhaul, making sure the guest quarters are up to par in time for their arrivals.

There are a million different details to take care of yet but the lion's share has been divided up, leaving us free for the night.

"A moment more, if you please?" Barron calls as I try and slip out with everyone else.

"Of course," I reply with a tight lipped frown. Barron, for his part, remains seated with his brows knit and a pensive look in his eyes.

"Have you given any more thought to my warning?" He asks, rubbing his jaw.

Cyrus growls in my mind, knowing where this is heading. "It's not up for debate," I say with a pointed look.

"Take your own feelings out of it and look at the big picture," Barron says, slouching back in his chair. "Already the people grow restless with her in the palace... It's only a matter of time until something happens."

"They will accept her. This is not up for debate!" I snap, slamming my fist down on the table.

"And when they don't?" he counters, unphased.

"Then I will deal with it and a hybrid will be the least of their problems," I growl.

"That's a dangerous game." Barron sighs but presses no further.

"If that's all?" I ask, raising a brow. Barron nods with a tight lipped frown and I'm only too happy to slip away before he brings up anything more about Mira.

I pause on the other side of the door, rolling out my shoulders and trying to shake out my pent up frustration before I find Jess. After walking aimlessly around the palace, I finally feel mellowed out enough to see her and head to the greenhouse.

Walking through the doors feels like a different world compared to the place that Ethan brought me to just days ago. The dense jungle has been tamed, letting the last rays of sun filter through. The mountain of debris I passed coming here left me wondering if there would be anything left for them to grow.

Jess is kneeling by the stream, trimming overgrown ferns away as curious orange, black, and white spotted fish swim near her and check out her every move like puppies. She looks so light and carefree here with a content smile on her lips while she focuses on her work. The amount of work her and the kids have accomplished in such a short time is mind boggling.

I could hear there was running water when Ethan brought me here, but now I see that it runs the whole distance of the greenhouse, joining a pond on one end to a waterfall on the other. They've also uncovered a stone walkway that looks like it's grown directly from the earth.

"Hey," Jess calls, catching me checking out her handy work.

"You're incredible, you know that?" I reply, impressed with her work. Jess takes my outstretched hand and I help her up, wrapping her up, dropping my head to the crook of her neck, and breathing deeply. "I missed you."

"You're working too hard," Jess pouts, looking up through dark lashes.

"It's only for now baby," I assure her. Transitions can be a mess, this one is no exception but I'm pushing hard to get everything taken care of before Jess progresses too much. I worry that she'll have complications like Claire and if I don't get everything sorted in time, I won't be there when she needs me.

That thought plagues me every night... somehow I'll fail her.

What if I'm not there when she needs me, or that my pup hurts her, or if someone comes after her again?

This nightmare fuel has been my constant companion, driving me to do more every day.

"Where'd you go right there?" Jess asks, brushing her fingertips against my temple. Her golden-brown eyes search mine as her brows knit tightly together.

"Nowhere baby," I say, kissing her hand. "I'm right here, with you... Come on, let's go home."

Jess frowns, clearly not buying my answer but thankfully doesn't press on. Instead, she tucks against my side and leads us out. I sigh, savouring her contact, pushing everything else away, just focusing on her and this moment.

Tomorrow is another day...